Newcastle COMPLETE £14.5m Signing Of Georginio Wijnaldum On 5-Year Deal

Newcastle United have completed the signing of Georginio Wijnaldum from PSV Eindhoven as Steve McClaren's Magpies tenure finally begins to gather momentum - and the midfielder says he already has a "good feeling" about the club. PSV Eindhoven announced on Friday that the 24-year-old was heading to Tyneside after they agreed a £14.5 million fee with Newcastle and the attacking-midfielder has now signed a five-year deal following the successful completion of his medical. The Dutch international touched down at Newcastle International Airport early on Friday afternoon and was then whisked straight off to complete his medical before finally confirming the deal. He becomes the club's first signing in 335 days - since the acquisition of both Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles in a joint deal from Nottingham Forest, only for the pair to be sent straight back out on loan to the Championship side.

Whatculture.com/nufc understands that Wijnaldum even asked about the possibility of appearing in Newcastle's 1-0 friendly win at Gateshead on Friday night, but that was not possible. The Dutchman will be utilised by Newcastle in a number of roles due to his versatility, although primarily he will adopt a box-to-box midfielder approach to the game - meaning he could play alongside both Moussa Sissoko and Siem de Jong. McClaren had asserted that he wanted new recruits to have been signed by the time the Magpies flew out for their pre-season tour to the USA this weekend, and Wijnaldum is just the first. Anderlecht forward Aleksandar Mitrovic is expected to follow as well for a fee in the region of £13 million as the club's summer recruitment drive really hots up. It has been five years in the making for McClaren, but he has finally snapped up Wijnaldum after attempting to sign him while the former England boss was at FC Twente, and when the midfielder was at Feyenoord. Wijnaldum, speaking to De Telegraaf, said of McClaren and Newcastle:

"I had a good talk with the coach (McClaren). When I played for Feyenoord, he wanted to get me all to FC Twente. "Newcastle United wanted me very much. That was evident from the great offer that they made for me. I really feel that I was ready for the next step. I'm just here (at Newcastle) but (I've) got a good feeling about the club already. "It's exactly true as Memphis (Depay, who moved to Manchester United) and I thought it. Just stay a year at PSV, become a better player, champion and then make a transfer. "I take with a very good feeling goodbye to PSV. I've been able to develop properly and I like the fact that the club will now get a good transfer fee for me, because PSV have invested a lot in me."

https://twitter.com/GWijnaldum/status/619785659553837057 Wijnaldum also took to Twitter on Friday to respond to former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel's message of congratulations on the move to say:

"Thank you bro."

The Eredivisie champions confirmed on their Twitter on Friday - and then their technical manager also firmed up reports - that Wijnaldum was free to open discussions with Newcastle, and the attacking-midfielder then flew to Tyneside. Sunderland, Manchester United, Everton, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain had all previously been credited with an interest in Wijnaldum, but it was Newcastle who finally won the race for his signature. The former PSV captain has already been capped 18 times by Holland, scoring twice, and is regarded as one of the most-promising players in Europe due to the fact he has a habit of regularly finding the back of the net. Furthermore, the 24-year-old has already won three trophies with PSV and has made 152 appearances, scoring an impressive 56 times from midfield and contributing 23 assists, since he moved there from Feyenoord in 2011. The midfielder also netted for Holland during the 3-0 third-place play-off win over Brazil at last year€™s World Cup. CLICK HERE to read "16 Things Newcastle Fans Need To Know About Georginio Wijnaldum".For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.